Umoja Biopharma, the US-based developer of an in vivo immunotherapy platform, completed a $210m series B round co-led by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 on Tuesday.
Investment manager Cormorant Asset Management co-led the round, while life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities participated through its Alexandria Venture Investments vehicle.
RTW Investments, Temasek, Apeiron Investment Group’s Presight Capital subsidiary, Caas Capital, MPM Capital, DCVC Bio, Qiming Venture Partners USA, Casdin Capital, Emerson Collective and an unnamed investment fund associated with SVB Leerink also took part in the round.
Founded in 2019, Umoja is creating technologies to reprogram immune cells in vivo to treat both solid tumours and haematologic malignancies. Its technology is based on research at Purdue University and Seattle Children’s Research Institute.
The series B capital has been allocated to further technology development, advancing two product candidates into the clinic and building out the startup’s internal manufacturing capabilities. It will also look to recruit additional staff and expand its presence in Boulder, Colorado.
Umoja publicly launched with $53m in series A financing in November 2020. The round was co-led by MPM Capital and Qiming Venture Partners USA and came after MPM Capital and DCVC Bio had provided an undisclosed amount of seed capital at an unspecified date.
Qiming Venture Partners USA, Casdin Capital, Emerson Collective and Alexandria Venture Investments were all identified as returning investors in the series B round. Casdin had listed Umoja as a portfolio company by November 2019, but further details of its investment could not be ascertained.
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.
